Inspired by all the attention given the Winter Olympics in Saravejo
this month, you may want to rush down to the nearest ice rink, strap on
the blades, and brush up on your figure eights or speed up your slap
shot. To get out on the ice for some broomball or Scottish curling, all
you need are sneakers.

Lessons. If at first the ice rink looks like one vast banana peel,
take heart. Many rinks offer 1/2- to 2-1/2-hour group lessons for
beginners. Serious skaters can take group (about $30 for six weeks,
plus skate rental) or individual lessons in basic skating, figure
skating, and ice dancing. A few rinks offer icercise: aerobic dance on
ice.

Hockey. Armchair hockey players, if you hung up your skates 20
years ago--or never even had any--you can find a place to try out your
Wayne Gretzky imitation. Previous experience is downright discouraged
in the National Novice Hockey League, now active in Denver and the San
Francisco Bay Area. Beginning men and women ages 21 and over pay about
$200 for a 16- to 20-week season of lessons and friendly competition.
Play starts in OCtober, but right now you can watch--the current season
is in full swing. For information in the Bay Area, call (415) 567-2300;
in Denver, call (303) 758-6889.

Most rinks sponsor junior or youth leagues (ages 6 to about 18),
and senior and "old-timers" leagues; some have scheduled
pick-up hockey sessions. For mroe information, call your nearby rink.

Broomball. This game offers the thrills of hockey without the
skates. Instead, players were tennis shoes and use brooms and
soccer-size balls instead of sticks and pucks. Some rinks sponsor
leagues; other rent the ice to private groups.

Curling. To the untrained observer, this ancient Scottish sport
looks like shuffleboard on ice. But there's a difference: after
one player release the stone, two sweepers follow it with special brooms
to reduce friction and help guide it into the circular area where points
are scored. Look for curling in Colorado Springs (Broadmoor) and
Westminster, Colorado, and Redwood City, California.